The use of electronic invoicing and payment will increase in the business-to-business sector in the near future, according to the “B2B Spend Management Survey” released Aug. 11 by MasterCard International and Ariba Inc., a BTB software supplier.
Eighty percent of BTB transactions are completed using paper checks. However, two-thirds of companies with annual revenue exceeding $500 million use some form of electronic invoicing and payment, the survey found.
MasterCard and Ariba predict that by 2010, almost half of BTB transactions will occur electronically.
Also, 51 percent of respondents cited reduced processing time and lower costs as the main benefits of electronic payment systems. Respondents cited several barriers to wider adoption of such systems, including cost, which 25 percent saw as a hurdle. Other barriers included complexity, cited by 22 percent, and an aversion to making changes to their IT systems (19 percent).
Of companies that have no electronic payment system, 69 percent reported plans to adopt one in a year or two.
